In Dreams
by Starr
Summary: Luke has a series of dreams after ANH


Luke has a series of dreams after ANH. The last two lines of dialogue are paraphrased from Wildhorn and Bricusse's _Jekyll and Hyde_. If this uploaded wrong, email me personally and I'll fix it. Thanks!

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Anyone perfect must be lying, anything easy has its cost.  
Anyone plain can be lovely, anyone loved can be lost.  
What if I lost my direction? What if I lost sense of time?  
What if I nursed this infection? Maybe the worst is behind.  
It feels just like I'm falling for the first time.

Barenaked Ladies

The first time the dream came, there was nothing. Only voices, and a strange sort of mist swirling everywhere. He couldn't quite hear who was talking to him, couldn't grasp the timbre of the voice, but something was being said. That much he knew. And in that strange, mist-filled dreamscape, a conversation took place.

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Luke?

He was disoriented at first, unable to see or move, unsure of who was talking or what was being said. _Hello?_

Luke.

Who are you? Where _are you?_

You know who I am.

I do? I can't even see you. 

You will know. I suspect you already do, but don't yet understand.

Right. Well, that didn't make much sense, but this person, whoever he was, didn't seem too eager to be anything more than cryptic. _And where are we?_

Wherever you want us to be.

Dammit, this was confusing. Probably best just to take it and ride it out. _So, then…what are we doing here, wherever here is?_

Talking.

Obviously, but why?

Because we wish it. I sought you out, and you sought me out.

Sought you out? How could I do that? I don't even know who you are.

You know. You have been searching for me all your life. What? Could it…no, this was just another dream to torment him, the same type of dream he'd been having since before he could remember. _I suggest you stop thinking about it, child. When you wish to know the answer, you will._

Ok. Then why did we seek each other out?

Do you always ask this many questions?

Do you always evade this many questions?

Touché. There was amusement in the voice now, and Luke was curiously pleased by it. He wasn't sure who this strange being was or why he wanted to talk to him, but at least he wasn't mean. _How are you feeling?_

What?

How are you feeling?

The question threw him. No one had ever stopped to ask how he was feeling. Well, people had, but it sounded like this person meant it. _I don't know…fine?_

Good. Now, how are you really feeling?

What?

You're not fine. If you were fine, you wouldn't have been calling to me night after night.

But I don't even know who you are! I haven't been calling to anyone.

Yes you have. Maybe you've done it so much you don't notice anymore.

Could that be? Could he be calling to someone without even knowing it? Did he even know how to call people? _You mean…I call you with my mind?_

Precisely. With the Force.

But I don't know how to use the Force. I mean, I know what it is, and Ben sort of showed me how to use it, but I can't call people with it.

You've been doing it all your life. Your power, your potential is that immense. It seeks solace.

It does? Just the fact that he had that much potential was ludicrous to him, but apparently this voice believed that he did, so he would leave it at that. He didn't want whoever it was to go away, for some reason. Just talking to him comforted him, somehow.

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It does. It seeks solace with those who understand it, with those who are similar to it, with those who are a part of it.

Like you? 

Like me.

But who are you?

Do you need that much security? Do you have to label me?

Luke withdrew, feeling horribly young and foolish. Did he? _I…I just…I was interested. Will I talk to you again?_

Yes, young one. I promise. We will talk often.

Thank you.

Good night, Luke. And as the dream faded out, and the mists dispersed into wakefulness, he didn't feel so alone anymore. Someone understood him. Someone didn't want him to be lonely.

The next time, he could see himself clearly. He was in a swamp of some sort, sitting on a log. He was alone, though. The voice floated through the air, coming from everywhere and nowhere all at once. It was rich and light at the same time, and it made him think of sunlight and molten gold. It was liquid and lovely to hear. He liked it.

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Hello, Luke.

"Hi."

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How are you? There was a smile in the voice, and it made Luke curiously glad to hear it 

"I'm fine. How are you?"

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I'm doing very well, thank you. I'm happy to be speaking to you.

He was taken aback at that. No one ever tried to seek him out for conversation. He wasn't that interesting. "Why?"

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I have a vested interest in you.

"Why?"

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Why? Why? The voice mimicked. Luke ducked his head shyly. 

"Sorry."

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Don't be. You have nothing to be sorry for.

"I shouldn't have asked so many questions. 'I have trouble focusing. I don't listen.'"

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Who told you that?

"My uncle, mostly."

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I didn't know you had an uncle. 

"Well, I don't think he's actually my real uncle. I think I just called him that."

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And he raised you?

"Sort of. He fed me until I was eighteen. That's all."

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Were you unhappy?

"It doesn't matter."Oh, if there was one thing he didn't want to talk about, it was Tatooine and Uncle Owen. 

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I wish you would tell me.

"Why?"

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I care about you. I want to help you.

"I don't need any help." 

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Perhaps. All I know is that you've been calling for me and for my assistance for many years now. Only recently have the calls become tangible enough for me to respond.

"Then maybe I was just calling out of habit. Maybe it's just something I do," he said sullenly.

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I doubt it. Tell me, Luke: Are you happy now?

"What?"

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Are you happy?

"Of course!"The response was too immediate, too forceful, and they both knew it.

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How is the Alliance treating you?

"Well. I…I'm a hero."

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Do you believe that?

"That's what they tell me."

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You didn't answer my question.

"I…"A pressure had arisen inside his temples—he lowered his face into his hands to try and rub it away. There was something he should recognize here. Something he should know. It just wasn't coming yet. He shook his head, angry with himself.

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Do you?

"I don't know!" He leapt to his feet and began pacing, agitated. "I mean, being a hero is a huge thing! All I did was fire a lucky shot and kill a lot of people." He stopped. It wasn't a new realization, but it was the first time he'd revealed it to another. "A lot of people."

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You're not happy, are you?

"No."The answer was a whisper, and he looked only at his hands, unable to face even a disembodied voice. 

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What can I do to remedy that?

"What can you do? I don't even know who you are!"

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Luke, you do! You just haven't let yourself realize it yet. I am the person you've been searching for. You know who I am.

"No, no…don't say that. You're not real. You can't be…" 

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You're afraid.

"Yes."

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I understand. It began to rain, a cold, swift rain that stung where it hit him. Within seconds, he was thoroughly soaked.

"I have to go. I can't stay, I can't…"

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Calm yourself, Luke. I understand. I understand your fear. But please, listen to your heart. You know who I am.

"I think…maybe I do."

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Luke, all I want is to make you happy. You know what you want—you only need tell me. I will be there when you call me, and I will come when you need me.

"Why? What do you get out of it?"

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Only you. 

Me. That's an awful lot to ask.

The next time, he was in the middle of Tatooine. He was young, maybe seven or eight, and dressed in his typical Tatooine farmer boy garb. He sensed, somehow, that he was alone again, and that made him very nervous. Finally, he saw a tall, broad-shouldered man with golden hair and sparkling eyes walking swiftly over the dunes. He caught sight of the boy and waved. With a cry of joy, Luke began to run as quickly as his short little legs would allow him. The man dropped to his knees and opened his arms.

"You came!" Luke cried. The grownup lifted him high above his head and swung him around, before pulling the laughing boy into his embrace.

"Of course I did, little one. I promised I would always come when you called me."

"Did I call you?"

"You do every night, and every night I come to you."

"Oh." The boy pulled his head away from the spot it was resting on the big man's shoulder. "I'm not bothering you, am I?" His eyes widened in the easy panic of a child. The man laughed, though, putting Luke's fears at ease.

"Not at all, Luke. It makes me happy when you call me. I can only be with you when you call me."

"And you…you wanna be with me?"

"I want to be with you always, little one."

"Can I come with you? When you leave, I mean?"

"It has to be your decision, Luke. I want you to come with me, but I will not force you."

"But I want to! I want to come with you!" The child threw his arms around the man's neck fervently, as if he would never let go. 

"You do?" There was a smile on his face, but his words were sad. "You don't even know who I am."

"You keep telling me I do."

"Do you?"

"I…I think so. If I came with you, what would I do?"

"You would learn. You would learn not to be lonely."

"Would I be with you?"

"Always."

"Then I wanna go."

"Why?"

"That's silly," Luke giggled, then leaned in to whisper in the man's ear. "'Cause I like you."

"Well, I like you too, Luke Skywalker." 

The child gasped, as if he'd just realized something. "If I come with you, who will I be?" 

The man locked eyes with the little boy and spoke in a solemn voice. "You would be me."

"You? But that's not bad, right?"

"You'd be surprised," the man growled, then began tickling the child with a vengeance. Luke shrieked and twisted to get away, but the man held firm until they were exhausted, gasping and teary-eyed. Luke lay on the sand giggling next to the tall man's broad form. Recovering first, the boy crawled over and looked into the older man's deep blue eyes.

"Do you ever think you almost know something, but then forget it before you think it?" Luke's body was tiny, his face was young, but his voice suddenly reflected maturity beyond his years. The child's older companion sat up, his manner suddenly wary.

"All the time. Why?"

"Because. For a second, I thought I knew you were."

"But now you've forgotten?"

"Yeah."

"Shall I tell you?"

"If you tell, can I come with you?"

"Only if you want to."

"I do!"

"Very well. I am what you will be someday, if you come with me."

"Is that it? For a minute I thought you were gonna be someone scary."

"For a minute I almost was." And as Luke considered that, Anakin Skywalker stood and carried his son away with him towards the distant shadows.


End file.
